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Redskins have completed offensive installation

After a week of training camp, the Redskins have completed their offensive install and will now begin to focus on repetition.

The Redskins began installing their playbook on Day 1 of training camp and are 95 percent of the way through it, Coach Mike Shanahan said. They've reached the point where they'll begin going over plays, fine tuning and working on technique.

"People are still learning the first week," receivers coach Keenan McCardell said. "The next week, we're installed and guys have to be able to memorize what we installed, know the concepts. Guys can relax and they can rely on their natural talents to do what they do."

While Chris Cooley has estimated that the team has been installing one hundred new plays a day, the team has actually been going through about 40.

"It might look like a hundred if you just wrote it down on paper," offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said "The thing is, it's 40 plays, but there's about 100 different ways to run them."

The offensive players have been working out of a training camp playbook that they were given before the team's minicamps and organized team activities (OTAs) began. While they went through each play during the offseason workouts, when they reported to camp last Thursday, they started from scratch.

As the offense now goes over the plays, they'll start working on wrinkles and preparing each play for different game situations and defensive fronts.

"This where you try to perfect everything," said left guard Derrick Dockery. "Once you get the offense down, you can rep in your mind, your assignments, what you have to do. Now you can focus on your technique because you know your assignment, you know what to do. So you can finish plays much better."

McCardell has a nifty metaphor to explain the entire process.

"We started crawling at first, when everyone first got here," he said. "In OTAs, we were walking a little bit. Training camp came and we were running. Hopefully we'll be in a full sprint by time the season starts."

DE Phillip Daniels. Shined in the one-on-one drills this morning. Beat up Artis Hicks, with strength and technique (and got inside him with a good first step) and bulled his way through Chad Rinehart. Daniels wasn’t facing Pro Bowlers, but he continues to show that he can still muscle guys. He does not look his age. The trick will be when offenses try to get their ends on the move.

OL Edwin Williams. Saw him stopping guys in the one-on-ones. Again, good anchor and does a decent job with his hands (long arms). I like him better as a center, though he did a good job a couple times at guard vs. Adam Carriker. And the big fella even got out in space on a screen pass to block Perry Riley. I didn’t like how he had his head down on one block of Lorenzo Alexander; that’ll get him in trouble. What we don’t know is how he would handle line calls, etc., at center and that’s a major, major part of the gig. It’s why Casey Rabach is so respected by his linemates and coaches. And why he’ll start.

QB John Beck. Made a few nice throws, though one was helped by a major defensive breakdown. Still, he’s starting to get comfortable. He hit Brandon Banks on a go-route down the right side (Banks dusted Ramzee Robinson) for a score. He also rolled to his right and found Lee Vickers with a sidearm toss; there was a narrow window and he squeezed it in. Beck definitely missed on some throws, but considering when he came here, he’s doing fine. Better than Colt Brennan, that’s for sure.

CB DeAngelo Hall. Nearly had another pick, but instead settled for tight coverage on Terrence Austin and a deflection of Donovan McNabb. Earlier, he picked off a wobbly deep ball by McNabb – the pass was about 10 yards underthrown. McNabb wasn’t awful today, but that was just an ugly, ugly pass. Felt like we should have gotten out a rifle to pick that one out of the air. But the point is: Hall always seems to find his way around the ball.

CB Kevin Barnes. Keeps improving. Does need to work on better angles to the ball in pursuit, but the handful of times he was thrown at today, he had his man covered – or played the zone well. Curious to see how he’ll handle a live game – and against better receivers.

LB Chris Wilson. When he stays low off the edge and gets a step, he’ll get to the quarterback. He did this vs. Trent Williams in the one-on-one and he got inside Will Robinson another time when the tackle was too high; he couldn’t react to Wilson’s third step. Earlier, Wilson stayed home and stopped a cutback run.

RT Stephon Heyer. Took the day off Thursday from watching him, but back at it today. Had a couple decent blocks – Chris Foerster even shouted after one, “That’s what I’m talking about Steph!” which caused me to start thinking, “Hmmm, stud?” Uhhhhh, no. Andre Carter got around him one time and Heyer fell. Just a speed rush in which Carter was real low. Then Darrion Scott got inside him. In full-team work he was OK, but struggled to reach the linebackers.

RG Artis Hicks. A good guy who is having an inconsistent camp. We’ll give him time, but it’s a bit troubling to see him so upright at times. In the one-on-ones, Darrion Scott beat him off the first step. That can’t happen. Another time he was bending too much at the waist, which results in this: lunging arms and Phillip Daniels driving him back. Later, Daniels got inside of him. Now, you can adjust your scheme to compensate and the Redskins are huge on moving the line – so they’re no always in straight-up man battles. But Hicks needs to improve.

FS LaRon Landry. On a deep ball down the right side to Joey Galloway, Kareem Moore was up on the right side and released the receiver. He expected help from Landry. But Landry played it wrong and went inside. And the coaches shouted, “Oh, not again! You go that way!” Galloway caught it for an easy score.

RB Larry Johnson. Dropped a swing pass from Donovan McNabb. OIt only matters because his hands have been bad in the past.

CB Ramzee Robinson. Got beat by Banks on a go-route – all speed. Banks pulled even with him, they stayed in stride for a couple feet and then Banks dusted him. He allowed Terrence Austin to get inside for a slant route.

Offense. The starters are way too inconsistent overall. Too many drops in seven on sevens, by Larry Johnson, Ryan Torain and even Santana Moss and Chris Cooley. I like what they’re trying to do offensively and I’m sure this staff eventually will put together a good offense, but I’m not feeling it right now.

* I talked to one longtime Redskins reporter who actually thinks Larry Johnson will have more carries than Clinton Portis this season. I don't see that happening unless Portis suffers an injury, but it's obvious that Johnson's feeling really good early in camp. He's finishing off every run and he's actually shown a burst at times. He also appears to be really comfortable with his new surroundings. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine Willie Parker making this roster. He's not getting many reps and it just doesn't look like Shanahan's giving him much of a chance. Ryan Torrain is receiving more carries than Parker from what I can tell.

* Mike Shanahan doesn't miss a beat during practice. During drills, he'll stand away from everyone and just study different things. He also takes mental notes of which players don't hustle between drills and calls out their names at the end of practice. Those players are forced to run extra sprints. As one local beat reporter put it, "The adults are in charge again." I liked Jim Zorn, but he probably gave his players too much latitude.

* Lorenzo Alexander and Andre Carter have a nice little battle going on at left outside linebacker. Alexander has been running with the first team, but the 31-year-old Carter will get plenty of playing time. You knew Carter would have a little trouble in coverage but he's actually been step for step with running backs on a couple of occasions. No matter who wins the starting role, the other guy will receive plenty of playing time. By the way, Carter told me after practice that he thinks David Diehl's the best left tackle he's faced in the Beast.

* Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett is the best thing that could've happened to Carlos Rogers' career. The cornerback thought his career in Washington was over, but now Haslett believes he can turn him into a Antoine Winfield-type player. Haslett will take advantage of Rogers' size and he'll send him on a lot more blitzes.

* Brian Orakpo told me after practice that Haslett's playbook has at least 20 more blitzes than Greg Blache's version. He said it was a little overwhelming at first, but now he's not thinking as much.

* Kedric Golston and Adam Carriker were running with the first-team defense Friday. It looked like the Redskins were working on their dime package, which features two down linemen. If Haynesworth passes the conditioning test in the next month or so, he'll likely see a lot of time at right defensive end.

* Torrain could end up serving as the third-down back, but he can't drop a perfect swing pass as he did Friday.

* When former Cowboys wide receiver Joey Galloway broke free on a deep ball, Haslett just about lost it. "How many [expletive] times do we have to do this?" he shoutd in the general direction of safety LaRon Landry. By the way, Landry has a very difficult time not destroying receivers across the middle -- even when players are in shorts. In Friday's morning session, Landry pulled up at the last possible moment when Chris Cooley caught a Donovan McNabb pass across the middle. It looks like one of Cooley's brothers (Taylor?) was conducting some interviews for the tight end's blog after practice. They were focusing on Santana Moss.

* Cornerback Justin Tryon made a nice recovery on a fly pattern to Roydell Williams. At this moment, Santana Moss and Joey Galloway are your starting wide receivers. I think it's the weakest part of this team, but Moss tried to convince me otherwise during a 20-minute visit following practice.

* If you need a Rudy type player to root for, let me point you in the direction of former Kansas State wide receiver Brandon Banks. At 5-7, Banks isn't exactly a red-zone target. But he's quick and appears to have good hands. I'm interested to see if he can make some plays in the preseason. I'd love to see the little fella get some reps returning punts. He's not very sturdy, though. He caught a short pass Friday and then a shove from cornerback Kevin Barnes almost sent him into a crowd of corporate folks. I think a stiff wind might have the same effect on young Banks.

* John Beck rolled right and fired a bullet to tight end Lee Vickers in team drills. Former TCU linebacker Robert Henson reacted with some loud expletives because he came close to breaking up the pass. Perhaps Henson realizes that Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin will do something similar to his Frogs in Week 3. Beck botched a handoff to Portis in Friday's practice. He didn't last with the Dolphins because of a side-arm motion that led to a lot of balls being deflected. If Dolphins quarterbacks coach David Lee can't fix a problem, then I'm skeptical of the quarterback having much of a future in the league. Lee has worked with Tony Romo, Chad Henne and Tim Tebow (Senior Bowl).

* Haslett is trying to change the mentality of this defense. You'll hear the word "strip" over and over again in practice. Haslett wants one defender to strip the ball and another to come over the top and go for the scoop. There's an emphasis on takeaways in almost every drill.

* Shanahan thinks that Jammal Brown and Malcolm Kelly will return to practice Monday, but he's not certain about that. I get the feeling that the Redskins are starting to lose patience with Kelly, who is nursing a tight hamstring. Late in Friday's practice, the wide receiver would've broken away from the peloton had he not been on a stationary bike. It's not like the guy has a bad attitude or anything. Donovan McNabb and Santana Moss have both taken a special interest in the former Oklahoma star, but he has a hard time staying on the field.

* Grapevine, Texas, native Richard Bartel continues to throw the ball well in practice. Everyone's focused on Beck since he arrived, but Bartel's the backup who seems to take advantage of every rep.

* Brian Orakpo said he had some lofty personal goals for this season, but he's not willing to go on the record at this point. He spent much of our conversation talking about the Big 12 finding a way to stay together. With Nebraska defecting to the Big 10, Orakpo says this year's game between his Texas Longhorns and Adam Carriker's Cornhuskers will carry added significance. "I'm still trying to recover from when they almost beat us," said Orakpo, referring to the Big 12 title game.

* Safety Kareem Moore is having an excellent training camp and it will be tough to keep him off the field. The Redskins have actually developed some nice depth at safety. But on that topic, I'm not sure what's happened to Chris Horton. Two years ago, he took the league by storm when injuries forced him onto the field. Now, he's barely getting any reps in practice.

* I thought left tackle Trent Williams looked pretty quick in team drills. He tweaked his hip a little bit in practice, but Shanahan thinks he'll be fine.

OL Edwin Williams. Saw him stopping guys in the one-on-ones. Again, good anchor and does a decent job with his hands (long arms). I like him better as a center, though he did a good job a couple times at guard vs. Adam Carriker. And the big fella even got out in space on a screen pass to block Perry Riley. I didn’t like how he had his head down on one block of Lorenzo Alexander; that’ll get him in trouble. What we don’t know is how he would handle line calls, etc., at center and that’s a major, major part of the gig. It’s why Casey Rabach is so respected by his linemates and coaches. And why he’ll start.

Posted by: TWISI | August 6, 2010 2:26 PM
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If we could put Rabach's brain in Edwin Williams' body, we would have a decent center. I think Williams is getting there, though. He's definitely worth keeping around and maybe even getting the occasional shot at center when, for instance, we play a team with a big nose tackle or in goal line situations when you need to move the pile.

The standard unit measurement for mass weight of feces, as noted on the 2007 South Park episode "More Crap". The European Fecal Standards & Measurements Board in Zürich keeps track of the authenticity of its records. It is mentioned in the episode that "one Katie Couric is about two and a half pounds of excrement". The original record was set in 1960 at 7.5 Courics. It was revealed in October 2007 that the record excrement is in fact Bono of U2 fame, which had grown to 80 Courics. This explains why Bono seems so great, yet is still a piece of sh!t. That same day, American Randy Marsh set the new record at 100 Courics. The record still stands.
me: damn dude, i gotta take the biggest dump, but i think i'm gonna wait till the plane lands.

friend: oh yeah? how many courics do you think it weighs?

me: I hadn't sh!t all week, i must be constipated..i'm guessing about 6 and half Courics.

friend: f%#k man! Don't you know you're not supposed to fly when on your turd trimester?

"Redskins have completed offensive installation
After a week of training camp, the Redskins have completed their offensive install and will now begin to focus on repetition.

The Redskins began installing their playbook on Day 1 of training camp and are 95 percent of the way through it
"

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO SEES THE PROBLEM IN THIS STATEMENT????
________

I agree that it's messed up that they have installed the offense so quickly. I also wonder what happens when all of the cuts are made and these players knowing all of the terminology and plays start telling it to the teams that pick them up.

You may want to check out a publication called "Gun Tests"...they are the Consumer Reports for gun owners. I'm sure they have probably reviewed both guns or similar models. Also, have you considered a Glock? I have a model 31 and it is pretty sweet.

* When former Cowboys wide receiver Joey Galloway broke free on a deep ball, Haslett just about lost it. "How many [expletive] times do we have to do this?" he shoutd in the general direction of safety LaRon Landry. By the way, Landry has a very difficult time not destroying receivers across the middle -- even when players are in shorts. In Friday's morning session, Landry pulled up at the last possible moment when Chris Cooley caught a Donovan McNabb pass across the middle. It looks like one of Cooley's brothers (Taylor?) was conducting some interviews for the tight end's blog after practice. They were focusing on Santana Moss.

Posted by: psps23 | August 6, 2010 2:32 PM

I think LL will end up in deep coverage from time to time, especially after smart coordinators find out what motions forces LL into deep coverage. One only hopes that LL is paying attention to what Moore is doing. Moore has improved his coverage this offseason. There's no reason why LL can't do the same.

Twisi Psps, props on the updates. Not that anyone cares but was Matt Moseley trying to say that Baylor was going to beat TCU this year, cause that would be one of the bigger jokes to come out of him, although there is a lot to questions about mosely

rabach does not need to start for the mere reason he is not any good and a fraud, he is weak, slow gets pushed into the qb and has been breaking down for at least 3yrs. e. williams should take his job a better player with far more potential and youth.

rabach does not need to start for the mere reason he is not any good and a fraud, he is weak, slow gets pushed into the qb and has been breaking down for at least 3yrs. e. williams should take his job a better player with far more potential and youth.

RT Stephon Heyer. Took the day off Thursday from watching him, but back at it today. Had a couple decent blocks – Chris Foerster even shouted after one, “That’s what I’m talking about Steph!” which caused me to start thinking, “Hmmm, stud?” Uhhhhh, no. Andre Carter got around him one time and Heyer fell. Just a speed rush in which Carter was real low. Then Darrion Scott got inside him. In full-team work he was OK, but struggled to reach the linebackers.

RG Artis Hicks. A good guy who is having an inconsistent camp. We’ll give him time, but it’s a bit troubling to see him so upright at times. In the one-on-ones, Darrion Scott beat him off the first step. That can’t happen. Another time he was bending too much at the waist, which results in this: lunging arms and Phillip Daniels driving him back. Later, Daniels got inside of him. Now, you can adjust your scheme to compensate and the Redskins are huge on moving the line – so they’re no always in straight-up man battles. But Hicks needs to improve."

assuming this is an accurate assesment, here is my worst fear, Nothing has been done to improve the weakest, by far, part of the team.

trent williams could be a pro boel rookie and it wouldn't matter a bit if everyone can walk right through the right side like last year.

wathu19 does not need to start for the mere reason he is not any good and a fraud, he is weak, slow gets pushed into the qb and has been breaking down for at least 3yrs. merajc86 should take his job a better player with far more potential and youth.

pabrian2003,
I am concerned about the o-line as well, but I don't think Levi is the answer. He was a decent run blocker once he got his game feet under him, but he had his share of whiffs when pass blocking. They say Hicks is improving. I hope he keeps on that path. I am thinking Rino might be the better choice if someone had to choose a guard today. Maybe they should give him a little time with the starting offensive line to see if he can manage it.

I agree that it's messed up that they have installed the offense so quickly. I also wonder what happens when all of the cuts are made and these players knowing all of the terminology and plays start telling it to the teams that pick them up.

Posted by: RiggoisDrunk | August 6, 2010 2:37 PM | Report abuse

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This entire offense is on tape with the Houston Texans from last year that finished 3rd or 4th in the league... If it was predictable or easy like our previous coach's, it wouldn't have been so efficient... From what we have read, they mix it up really good with different formations/looks & use different primary options based on the call.

This is a positive which will allow the offense to presumably get better & better as the pre-season goes along... Even if a player gets cut... he may know the plays but it's the down/distance situation in which the plays are used that teams study the week leading up to a game. This information will only be on film from last year's Texans.

The thing about the one-one drills is that there has to be a winner and there has to be a loser.

Is it a good or bad thing that Andre Carter got around Heyer in one step?

Is it a good or bad thing that Daniels beat Hicks with an inside technique?

Posted by: p1funk | August 6, 2010 3:18 PM
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Know what you mean but this is bad. When your offensive linemen consistently get beaten - Heyer reaching instead of getting his feet under him, Hicks getting bull rushed, Rabach getting mauled by Kemoeatu, Orakpo speed rushing around Williams - then you have to say it is not the defensive line being so good but rather it is more the offensive line just hasn't come together yet. I anticipate a change or two to the starting lineup and another offensive lineman coming to camp real soon...

If the coaching thing doesn't pan out for Keenan McCardell, he should try his hand at writing. That metaphor was "nifty" indeed. Who would have ever thought to compare an ongoing development process to crawling, walking, and running??

The thing about the one-one drills is that there has to be a winner and there has to be a loser.

Is it a good or bad thing that Andre Carter got around Heyer in one step?

Is it a good or bad thing that Daniels beat Hicks with an inside technique?

Ditto... You could have two Pro-Bowl lines practicing and each position is going to have a winner and loser on every play. This is how players teach and learn from each other... The better the players the better the learning experience. When you see a player not learning from mistakes and lessons you say good bye.

Trent Williams is fortunate to have to work against Orakpo (and hopefully AH) because it means he will learn from his many mistakes to come and will be better prepared for the true opposition.